Ground Beef Recall: Cargill Meat Recall Linked To E. Coli

Ground Beef Recall: Cargill Meat Recall Linked To E. Coli – With the egg recall still fresh in our memory, now we have to deal with a beef recall as well. Cargill Meat, a Pennsylvania manufacturing firm is now recalling around 8,500 pounds of beef. The beef is ground beef, and was sold in various BJ’s Wholesale Club locations across the United States. Individuals that have consumed the beef have fallen ill with E. Coli, and health officials have warned that a lot of the contaminated meat has already been purchased.

This will likely fuel the decade-long debate over the safety of ground beef. When Oprah Winfrey expressed her distaste for the beef industry in 1996, she was sued by manufacturers and was forced to endure months of court appearances. Then, in 2008, “Food Inc.” was released that showed the food industry in a very bad light.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped Americans from purchasing and eating ground beef nearly as regularly. Hamburger is the number one culprit for E. Coli infection, and some are calling on the government agencies to step up to the plate and increase the precautions that companies must take when preparing ground beef.

Ground Beef patties are generally the leftover meat from the cow, and even though they may be labeled as “sirloin,” there is no real way to tell what part of the cow the meat comes from. The way that ground beef is produced makes it a likely candidate for infection. It will be interesting to see how the string of recalls, along with the popularity of the recent documentary “Food Inc.,” change the shape of the food industry.